Method of making hand tools



Aprile, 1948. L RORYAN 2,439,058

METHOD OF MAKING HAND TOOLS Filed beg. s, 1945 NVENTOR.

1 LESTER RVAYMo/vp RYAN Y fBY ATT ORNE Y Patented Apr. 6, 1948 v.1151:ITE'D rS TATES QFLFI'CE WETHOB F `MAKING Lester Ray-mondltyan,Blymmithnionni Application :December 6, 194'5; Serial No. 633;124-' l1Claim. 1

'This' invention relates Yto new and useful improvements inthe-.methodof making 'hand tools. LThe. .objects @and I advantages Aof theinvention will become :apparent -fro'm a consideration lof Athefollowing detailed description ltaken in connection with .theaccompanyingdrawing wherein a satisfactory embodiment of the inventionis shown. However, it iste be understood that the .invention is lnotlimited to the details ldis-closed but includes all suchvariations.andfmodications ilfi) as fall within the spirit of theinvention and the scope of the appended claim.

The present invention is applicable to various ihand'tools `as items ofcutlery-and other devices, 'such as putty knives, screw drivers, etc. Inthe 'accompanying drawing the invention is zillustrated in connectionwith a paring4 knife ort-simin lar item. However., it is to v`be.understood that thel invention is not limited to `such an item'butappliesto various devices including a sha-nk 'or blade and a handle.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a blank adapted to be formed into a knife;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the blank of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a more or less diagrammatical view showing the blank of Fig. 1being subjected to a forming operation in conventional forming tools;

Fig. 4 is an isometric view showing the blank as formed by the tools ofFig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 3 but showing the next formingoperation;

Fig. 6 shows the article as the same as formed by the tools of Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 shows a tool performing the iinal forming operation; and

Fig. 8 is an isometric view showing the completed knife.

Referring in detail to the drawing, at I Il is generally indicated ablank, later to be formed into a paring knife or the like. This blankcomprises a single piece of metal and includes an elongated centralportion or shank I I and a pair of side or wing portions I2 and I3.Integral with portion II is an extension I4 here shown as in the form ofa knife blade. It will be understood that the extension I4 may be in theform of any desired piece of cutlery or other tool, for example, a puttyknife or the shank of fa screw driver or the like.

Side portions I2 and I3 are shown as provided at spaced points alongtheir longitudinal edges with small ears I5 and I 6 respectively. Whilethe portions I2 and I3 are integral with the intermediateportion'orlslmiik lil they :are adapted to dbe -ieldedrelativeftheretoias -alongrthe dotted f'o'ld lines fifi, fandinaddition-portion I2 is adapted to rbc-'folded afs-along thefscorellines.flsand I9 while the portion lf3? isf adapted.; to doe'l raided alongthe score lines en and; 121?. all! as f will herea-ttermore clearlyappear. .Blank I0;is'^a:iso1providejdwith ipalirsx of holes:orrecesses-t22rand .23s,frespectively adiacent the: moer pnrtionsirofIthe "wings I2 and .1.3.-

Initial folding or formation; oflthefpontionrof the sblankIllritobeaibricated ,finto a liandle is .accomplished .by suitable:tools which may .be as outlined in .'Flig. .'llhesetoolswould includevaspring pad Zik-,a tplunger 25 and: pilots '26. AS these toolsarerbroughtwagainst `t'heablank :the'flat- ,ter .is termed@ intothefshape shown inFigs` 13 and 4.. isi. the .intenmediateV par-t VIIEremains :fixed-the wing or portion lIfZl'iis oiiisetdownwardly fromftheffoldflineV If'I.. tooprovide fa portion 2-1 and then is foldedsharply on the score lines I8 and I9 to provide the intermediate portion28 and the upwardly bent portion 29.

Thus, the wing I2 is formed into an open ended hollow trough-shapedmember having upwardly diverging side portions. Wing I3 is treatedsimilarly but made into a reverse formation in that it is bent on thefold line II to provide an upwardly inclining portion 3l] and on thescore lines 2D and 2I to provide the intermediate portion 3I and adownwardly diverging portion 32. Thus wing I3 becomes an inverted openended hollow trough-shaped member with diverging side walls.

rI'he score lines I8 through 2| provide for the obtaining of sharp bendsand fold lines III may be scored, if that is desired. Clearly thetroughshaped members need not have inclined side wall portions but maybe generally U-shaped or wholly curved as in an arc of a cir-cle or thelike.

Next the formed piece of Fig. 4 may be treated as by the tools of Fig. 5in which case the piece i-s positioned as shown at 33 by the brokenlines. Then as the tool is closed the partlyl formed handle is furtherformed in that the wing I2 is folded over into a position at one side ofthe intermediate portion II while the wing I3 is folded to a position atthe other side thereof, these folds taking place along the linessuggested by the dotted lines I'I in Fig. 1. Now the handle generallydesignated 34, is somewhat Z-shaped in transverse section as is clearfrom Figs. 5 and 6.

Having been formed into this Z-shape, the handle is now located betweenthe tools 35 and 36 as in Fig. 7 and the formed side portions or wingsI2 and I3 are pressed downward to bring their intermediate sections 28and 3l into parallel relationship with one another and with the portionIl. As such Wing portions are located at opposite sides of portion orshank II the free edge of the wall portion 29 of wing I2 and the freeedge of the Wall portion 32 of wing I3 are brought down against theopposite surfaces of opposite edge portions of the shank II as clearlyshown in Figs. 7 and 8. During thi-s operation the small ears l and I6may be bent into the openings 23 and 22 respectively so as to lock theWings I2 and I3 in the desired relation to portion I I.

During this nal operation in the tools 35 andv 36 the inner and outerend portions ofthe intermediate sections 28 and 3| of the respectivewings are pressed inwardly at angles as at 31 and 33 so as to close theend portions of the complete knife handle now designated 39. i

Stainless steel is a popular material for knife blades. With Suchmaterial heat setting of the completed handle portions 4! and di, formedfromthe wings I2 and I3, or welding of such portions might not bepractical. handle portions are locked in place by the folding over ofthe small ears I5 and IS into the holes 23 and Il? respectively. Thenumber or type of these ears is not important and in fact the ears maybe caused. to lap over to hold the handle sections in place without theprovision of the openings 22 and 23.

It will be apparent that the handle of the invention may be formed onarticles other than knives and, in fact, the handle may be formed onvarious articles of cutlery and other items such asputty knives, screwdrivers, etc. The handle is `made in three forming operations assuggested in the drawing and thus is inexpensive to manufacture.Further, since the handle is one piece with the shank or blade, thehandle In such cases the Having thus set forth the nature of my inven-`tion, what I claim is:

The method of making an article of the character described comprisingproviding a blank including an elongated shank portion having anREFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Y Date 336,116 Jeralds et al. Feb. 16,1886 363,401 Lee May 24, 1887 365,819 Jordan ,Ju1y 5, 1887 942,077 KenerDec. 7, 1909 1,080,661 Smith Dec. 9, 1913 1,376,764 Hart May 3,19212,116,890

Hamel May 10, 1938

